Problem Child
by Query
Summary: While some strive to be noticed, others strive to be ignored. Part 2 of the Jade Tiger Triad series.
1. The Orphanage

These stories are set in Gotham City. The character Dee Lemma/Xiaohu/Query, as well as the entire Jade Tiger Triad is the sole creation of me. Unauthorized use of my characters is not allowed. All other characters (Batman, The Riddler, and all other DC created Gothamites) are property of DC Comics.  
  
The Jade Tiger Triad series is Dee Lemma's origin series. 

~ ~ ~

  
  
"Dee Lemma, would you please pay attention!" Mrs. Collins shouted.  
  
The girl turned an entirely too serious looking face at the woman who towered over her. Dee Lemma was all of seven years old and already had a great contempt for most of the world. The few things in the world that she did love were her puzzles, books, and the stray cats that wandered around the orphanage. She hated the orphanage and all who were in it. From the twittering laughter of the other children, she knew the feeling was mutual.  
  
She stood and looked up at the teacher. "Six times four is twenty-four. Six times five is thirty. Six times seventy-four is four hundred forty-four. Four hundred forty-four squared is one hundred ninety-seven thousand and one hundred thirty-six."  
  
After reciting she fell silent and remained standing. A smirk pulled at her lips as she saw the teacher purse her lips in annoyance and turn away. The sound of calculator keys being pushed filled the quiet of the room. Her smile disappeared as the teacher whirled around anger in her eyes.  
  
"Though you are correct, you will spend the afternoon scrubbing the floor in here for your impudence!" the woman hissed striding to her desk. "Now class, take out your readers and turn to page forty-five."  
  
Sighing, Dee sat back in her desk and turned to the required page. This would be the third time she read this book since she had found it two years earlier. For the rest of the day she struggled though class. It wasn't that the subjects were hard; it was that they were too easy and she was already chapters ahead of the other kids. At the end of the day she cleaned the floors making a mental note of which classmates purposely made a big mess on the floor. Of course, instead of the teacher reprimanding them, the woman told Dee to hurry with the floors.  
  
While Dee scrubbed at puddle of finger paint she imagined herself away from the orphanage. She didn't think life would be so bad there if she could just be left alone. Everyone there made a joke out of her name, thinking themselves clever. Perhaps it would be different if the staff of the orphanage had snuffed the problem early on. Instead, they practically encouraged it, calling her their "little problem" when they thought the children or herself couldn't hear or weren't around.  
  
"I'm done, Mrs. Collins." Dee stood in front of the teacher's desk, a heavy bucket held in her small hands.  
  
Mrs. Collins looked over the top of her glasses at the girl standing before her. She sniffed and made a few marks on the paper she was grading before saying, "Very well. Go get yourself cleaned up. Mind yourself tomorrow and you won't have to go through this again, understand?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Collins," Dee said with the right amount of apology in her voice.  
  
Dropping the bucket off in the janitor's closet, Dee quickly made her way back up to her bunk to change. In her clothes chest she found a packet of cat treats and hurried outside to see her pets. On her way the other kids mocked her with meows and hisses.  
  
_What do they know?_ she thought bitterly bursting through the doors and onto the walled orphanage ground. The orphanage might as well have been a prison for all she was concerned. Soon enough she would escape from it and live on her own. Even as the thought of the outside world scared her, the idea of remaining in the orphanage frightened her more. She wasn't certain what she would do if she were forced to stay with another foster family. The last one had dropped her off on the steps of the orphanage, shouting obscenities to her. A few days later she had been taken aside by one of the staff and spoken to about her behavior. It had angered her that she was being blamed for the family's shortcomings. They should've known not to give a chemistry kit to a seven year old. Besides the dog's fur had grown back even if it was a lovely shade of purple.  
  
"Sorry, darlings," she said to the five cats around her. "That's all I've got for now. Maybe I can bring you something else tonight. I hear we're having meatloaf for dinner." Wrinkling her nose at the memory of the dry hockey puck-like slice, she changed her mind. Giving each cat a scratch under the chin and a kiss on the head she went back inside to read before dinner.   



	2. Escape

  
  
"Attention, class! Your attention, please!" Mrs. Collins shouted above the din. As the room quieted down, she continued. "As you know we have an open house coming up." She paused for the usual whispers of anticipation from the kids. "I would like you all to make a card to place at your desk for the potential mothers and fathers who will be coming around. You make draw whatever you like on the front of the card. On the inside I would like you to write a little bit about yourself. It may be as long or as short as you wish, but do keep in mind that this could influence your chance of being asked to stay with a foster family for the upcoming holidays."  
  
A murmur of excitement ran through the room. Going to a foster family meant real presents at Christmas, not just practical items like clothing. _Real_ gifts! Toys! Dee sat in her seat, saddened with this prospect. Why should she care to stay with people she didn't know? They'd buy her dolls, make her wear stupid ruffled dresses and go to church.  
  
"Dee? Is there a problem with the assignment?"  
  
Dee straightened in her chair. "No, Mrs. Collins."  
  
"Then I would appreciate you keeping whatever nasty thoughts are running through that mind of yours to yourself!"  
  
The class, who had all been watching her closely, now burst into laughter at the sight of her blushing. Dee wanted nothing more right then other than the floor to open and swallow her down. Perhaps she would find herself in a new place, like the one she was reading about in that book. She could watch the lion and the unicorn fighting and take tea with the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. But for now she would do the required assignment.  
  


~ ~ ~

"Is this supposed to be a joke, Ms. Lemma?" Mr. Packard asked waving her card under her nose.  
  
"No, Sir," she murmured.  
  
"Then what is it?"  
  
"It's my card, Sir. Mrs. Collins said we had to..."  
  
"I know very well what the assignment was, Ms. Lemma. _This_ is a mockery of what we are trying to do for you!" Roughly, he opened the card and read out loud from it. "'My name is Dee Lemma. A dilemma is a problem, just as I am thought to be. Don't bother with me because I'll just blow something you value up or singe all the hair off your dog with my homemade flea and tick shampoo. If you still feel like I'm worth your time, please don't buy me any stupid dolls. I would prefer puzzles and books.'"  
  
Mr. Packard crumbled the card in his fist, ruining the picture she had drawn on the front of her feline friends. When he spoke again, his voice trembled with the rage he was holding in.  
  
"Ms. Lemma, not only will you be withdrawn from the list of available children, but you will not be going anywhere for the special Christmas trip. Instead you will write an apology to Mrs. Collins for your behavior. Once you have done that you will spend the entire Christmas holiday cleaning each and every classroom in between helping out in the kitchen."  
  
"Yes, Sir," she replied keeping her eyes on her hands folded in her lap. "May I be excused, please? I have some homework to finish."  
  
In answer he opened his door and waved her out.  
  
Dee hurried past him and ran directly out into the cold, crisp air of the late Gotham fall. Off in the corner where she fed her cats, she crumpled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest as she cried. It wasn't very often she let herself cry, but this time she couldn't hold it back. As she cried, shadows fell over her. Try as she might to ignore them, the quartet would not leave her alone. One nudged her in the back with a shoe, lightly at first, harder when she refused to respond.  
  
"Leave me alone," she said attempting to gain control of her tears.  
  
"What's the matter, Problem?" one asked chiding.  
  
"I said leave me alone."  
  
"And if we don't? What are you gonna do about it? Put fleas on us from those mangy fleabags you play with?"  
  
The group laughed as Dee stood up and surrounded her. There was two boys and two girls, all the same age as her. At once they shoved her around the circle they formed. She didn't fight back, instead letting herself be thrown between the others.  
  
"Problem child! Problem child!" they chanted.  
  
When they made to shove her again, she ducked, balling a fist up and ramming it into the crotch of the nearest boy. He howled in pain as the others tried to grab her. One of the girls managed to get an arm around Dee who immediately sunk her teeth into the girl's flabby arm. The girl screamed swinging at Dee's head. Again Dee ducked and instead of the punch landing on Dee, it landed on the other girl who had been coming to help the first. Breaking away from the group, Dee ran for all she was worth. Shouts followed her as she bolted up to her bunk, throwing open her clothes chest.  
  
There wasn't much time before they would come after her, this she knew. She had a small backpack into which she stuffed a couple sweaters, her folder she had stolen from the office one day, a plush cat and the remaining packet of cat treats. Throwing the bag on, she grabbed up her jacket and ran out of the room. In the main hall she slowed and tried to make it look as if she were just going outside. A commotion caused her to look over her shoulder in time to see Mr. Packard hurrying toward her.  
  
"Not this time," she mumbled to herself as she ran to the front door.  
  
Crashing out the front doors Dee ran into the street, dodging the cars that screeched to a halt to avoid hitting her. She did not look back as she ran further from the Westside Gotham Orphanage and into the unfamiliar city.  
  
On the sidewalk in front of the orphanage Mr. Packard watched her go, a few staff members gathering around him.  
  
"Shouldn't someone go after her?" one asked.  
  
Mr. Packard shook his head. "No. She'll be back. It's cold and she'll be hungry in a couple hours."  
  
The staff agreed and they turned to follow Mr. Packard back into the warmth of the orphanage.   



	3. New Life

  
  
Dee Lemma never went back to the orphanage though it had been a consideration the first few days of her new life on the streets. She tried to reason with herself that life really had not been that bad in there. As she thought this she remembered all the times she had been sentenced to duties in the kitchen, laundry, or any of the other areas of the orphanage as punishment for something she had not been the instigator of. Instead she denied herself the thoughts of her bunk where she could sleep safely and the horrible, yet hot meals the orphanage served.  
  
The first month out she wandered through the different neighborhoods of Gotham looking for a place she could settle in and call home. Some of the places, while safe, offered her no opportunity to live. The affluent neighborhoods were too exclusive, the poor ones too dangerous. In a few of the ethnic neighborhoods the residents chased her away with curses and thrown objects. Dee began to feel very much like a stray cat. That was when she discovered Chinatown.  
  
By the time Christmas came around Dee had settled herself firmly in Chinatown. While many of the residents knew she was homeless, they didn't bother with her as she didn't beg and left the tourists alone. Dee knew that if she had begged she would only draw unwanted attention to herself in the form of the street toughs that wandered the neighborhood. In her short time on the streets she had learned a few things to protect herself and also carried a sharpened spike she had found. Being of petite build she was usually able to slip away from any trouble before she was noticed or caught.  
  
One of the many restaurants had a basement, which served more as a boiler room for the building than anything else. Dee had found this the ideal spot for a home and staked claim to a dark corner hidden by boxes and crates of forgotten restaurant items. Here she felt safe and could sleep through even the worst nights. The only entrance into the basement, other than from the restaurant, was a tiny window through which she was able to squeeze her small body.  
  
Using trial and error she eventually learned to pick pockets and how to shoplift small items without getting caught. Chinatown, being a prime day trip target for tourists, made for the perfect picking grounds. More often than not she was able to pilfer a jacket or a sweater which immediately went into her hiding place and became either part of her bed or was torn up for washcloths; just because she was homeless didn't mean she had to look or smell like it.  
  
Meals were the easiest to acquire. It was inevitable that some tourist would set down the leftovers they took from one of the restaurants while browsing in a curio and turn away long enough for her to snatch the still warm food. They never made a complaint about missing it and usually gave a shrug before turning away and continuing on. She learned, also, that the food carts along the street made excellent targets. During the busy lunch and dinner hours it was easy enough to slip up and slid a hot bowl of food that had been set down for someone else to pick up. The following arguments kept her entertained as well as she hurried around the corner with her prize.   



End file.
